Wednesday, April 13, 2011

13. Running

I love running...

Which sometimes sounds surreal, given that back in my Cornell days, I could barely run, and in an attempt to become fit, I had taken running as a phys ed class. Now let me tell you, that did not go well, as on the last day of our class, the instructor decided to take us on a ___ mile run, which left me with such bad shin splints, I thought I was going to pass out.

And here I am, in 2011, claiming that I love to run. My love affair with running really started with the Vancouver Sun Run in 2008. My boyfriend had signed up with his company to do the Run, and I thought it would be a good motivator to try running again. And I am glad to have tried it, as the run-walk training program that came with the run was amazing (still is), and led me to believe that almost anyone can run.

I remain a recreational runner (unlike some runners who I hear will pee in their pants so as not to lose time, I will actually pause my run to use a Porta Potty, lol :), and my running stamina has gotten better over the years, not to mention the euphoria I feel mid-way through a run, and towards the end of a long run. In the meantime, the Vancouver Sun Run, North America's second largest 10k run, has become a personal tradition for me, reminding me every year that if you don't succeed at first, you can always try again; that it might not necessarily be the activity that's not doable, rather it might be the approach to tackling that activity. Doing the Run every year is also my way of paying tribute to something that hopefully has become a lifelong passion, and that will eventually enable me to run a half-marathon (in 2012 perhaps?)